Beginning early on June 22, a total of 1.5 billion kwh of electricity will be transferred to East China areas from Southwest China's Sichuan Province in 2003.

Officials from Sichuan said the electricity supply to East China would not affect power use in the province as surplus power supply had been achieved following a period of abundant rainfall.

The electricity transferred to East China, equivalent to the power generated by burning about 56.51 million tons of coal, would meet peak electricity use in summer in the eastern area.

Officials at the State Grid Corporation of China said 300 million kwh of electricity will be diverted to east China's electricity grid every month to ease power shortages there.

The electricity will be transferred via the newly operational Three Gorges transmission and converting system, cutting the distance from 2,552 kilometers to 1,644 kilometers, officials said.

By mid-May this year, China had generated a total of 648.546 billion kwh of electricity, up 16.03 percent from the same period last year.

Increasing power demand as the country continues its modernization drive has put immense pressure on power grids in some areas, especially in the relatively developed coastal regions like Shanghai and Guangdong.

Meanwhile, increased industrial output, lower prices and demand for high power-consuming appliances such as air-conditioners are causing power shortages in 16 provinces, according to a report from the State Grid Corporation.

To cope with the problem of power supply, China launched a West-to-East power transmission project in 2000, making it one of China's major strategies in energy development and an important step for developing the western regions.